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Synonyms

poor relation

British  

noun

  1. a person or thing considered inferior to another or others

    plastic is a poor relation of real leather
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
poor relation Idioms  

  1. An inferior member of a group, as in Many regard Turkey as the poor relation in the European alliance. This expression, first recorded in 1720 for a family member in humble circumstances, began to be used figuratively in the mid-1900s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Bayswater was long considered the poor relation of its ultradesirable London neighbors Notting Hill and Marylebone, but new development is driving up home prices in the area.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Though it can seem the poor relation of “real” television, the game show has a long history with the medium.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 31, 2023

Lawyers believe that the Treasury has long seen justice as a poor relation to health and education in terms of public spending.

From BBC • Sep. 16, 2020

Diagnostics has been the poor relation to drugs and vaccines for years, as governments are now realising to their cost.

From The Guardian • May 1, 2020

She was a poor relation, of course, so the look in the older woman's eyes and the implication of the words formed little less than an insult.

From The Mardi Gras Mystery by Bedford-Jones, H. (Henry)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.